You know how you kick yourself over the Car That Got Away? That cheap '70 Chrysler 300H I…
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Because British Leyland was committed to obsolescence tradition, lever-style shock absorbers remained on the Midget all the way to the end of its production run in 1980. There's really nothing wrong with the concept of lever shocks- they work just fine- but they're way more complicated and expensive than the modern tube-type variety. No doubt replacement Armstrongs are still made in the traditional English manner: an old guy in a shed illuminated by a coal-oil lamp, hammering away at pig-iron ingots between refreshing draughts of sludgy porter. You can convert a Spridget to tube shocks, but it ain't cheap. Naturally, the front shocks on my car were completely shot, beyond the capability of the good ol' Harley fork-oil trick to fix, so I was overjoyed to find that this Midget's shocks felt good as new.

Success! I grabbed a few other bits and pieces, including a new fuel filler pipe and hose. Unfortunately, the brake calipers were shot, but I'll just rebuild the ones I've got.